Holiday Shop Online

According to a recent US study, consumers now prefer online bargain shopping to in-store shopping for holiday gifts. It seems busy malls and shopping centres aren’t the primary place for Christmas presents anymore for anyone who normally purchases anything online at least four times a year.

The reasons for finding bargains online are mainly attributed to the potential savings in time, which 88% of respondents designated as their key reason for shopping on the net. Locating hard to find products, avoiding mall crowds and greater selection were also deciding factors in shopping online instead of in physical stores.

E-tailing Group, the body who conducted the survey, stated that value spending is definitely the mantra this year as multitasking shoppers keep tabs on the web to get the best deals:

“Holiday gift buying is particularly impacted by this propensity for shopping smart as consumers preview online to get the most for their money.”

In New Zealand, things are set to follow the trend with online department stores offering bigger and better ranges of branded products as heavily discounted prices. When safe shopping online is so fast and easy, why wouldn’t you want to avoid the shopping centres this holiday season?

Image from Flickr.